Not less than four customs officers attached to Ogun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service were last week attacked by smugglers who specialise in vehicles along Idiroko (Ogun state) axis of the country’s borders with Benin Republic.
The anti-smuggling operatives were injured as the command seized eight second-hand vehicles and a new Toyota Hilux in communities in Idiroko border axis.
The Controller of the Area command, Sani Madugu, disclosed this at the command’s Idiroko border office while reviewing its activities in one week. Other smuggled vehicles impounded were Toyota Tundra, Toyota Hybrid Prius, Toyota Sienna, Golf 3, Toyota Highlander, and Toyota Hilux.
According to him, the operatives were attacked when they went to one of the villages along the border route to effect the seizure of a Toyota Hilux hid there by smugglers.
Madugu said the smugglers, on sighting the operatives, started hurling stones and other dangerous objects at them, and in the process, they injured four of them.
“We had an intelligence report that a new Toyota Hilux smuggled into the country from the Republic of Benin was being hid in a village along the border route. When our operatives got there and they wanted to recover the smuggled vehicle, the smugglers started hurling stones and other dangerous objects at them. In the process, four operatives were injured and the operational vehicle was also damaged. Two of the operatives are still receiving treatment in the hospital while the other two have been discharged. I don’t want to mention the name of the village because investigation is still on. We will get all those who were involved.”
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